The Texas General Counsel Forum announced Tuesday that it has hired a former executive at Sabre, LaQuinta Inns and JCPenney as its new chief executive officer.
In an email to its 600-plus members, who are mostly senior level members of corporate legal departments in Texas, the GC Forum said it has hired Kristin Hays to lead the organization.
A graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia and Drake University Law School, Hays practiced litigation at Polsinelli and Hughes & Luce in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She went in-house to JCPenney as senior managing counsel before becoming the director of investor relations and corporate communications.
In the email to members, the GC Forum stated that Hays will be based in Dallas and “steps into the role with a mandate to drive strategic growth, enhance membership value, and continue to elevate the Forum’s position as the leading voice for the in-house legal community.”
“Kristin Hays is a dynamic and proven leader whose legal and professional background is exactly what the Forum needs for its next chapter of growth,” said North Texas Tollway Authority GC Dena DeNooyer Stroh, who chairs the GC Forum’s board of directors. “Her strategic vision, coupled with her experience in stakeholder engagement, will be instrumental in expanding our reach, delivering high-quality programming like our annual conference and leadership institute.”
In a statement, Hays said she looks forward to “the opportunity to serve and connect Texas’ top legal talent is both energizing and inspiring, especially alongside the forum’s incredible internal leadership team.”
The GC Forum CEO position came open in March when Lynn Bozalis, its long-time and beloved leader, died from cancer.